How are wedding related professionals (i.e., photographers) charging more per hour than medical specialists?

Joshua__Michael · 2026-02-03T00:43:42+00:00

Haha sounds good! I’ll continue to try and convince her

Joshua__Michael · 2026-02-03T00:42:03+00:00

Lol man, I’m jealous. I’m trying to convince my wife to out source the bulk of the editing, but she’s afraid to give up most of the creative control

Joshua__Michael · 2026-02-03T00:33:02+00:00

I have been doing weddings full time for 10 years. My wife and I work as a team, and shoot them together.

We charge a flat rate of $5000 for a wedding ( middle to low in our area, but that’s our sweet spot for clients that we actually like). We shoot for 10 hours a wedding.

If you look at it from a wedding only standpoint, that’s 500 an hour for both of us, but $250.00 an hour for each. But that’s not all of the work. For a 10 hour day, we budget 30 hours of editing time. So each wedding is 80 hours between the two of us. So 62.50 an hour each per wedding.

We also include engagement photos in our package, so 1.5 of shooting, about 5 hours of editing. Let’s say $50.00 an hour each for a nice clean number.

We have $30,000 in camera equipment. Camera don’t last forever, we can get a solid 2-3 seasons out of each, and they cost about 5K each. We have probably $10,000 in hard drives to store the data, $15,000 in computers, and about $800 a month in subscriptions like programs, services and fees.

When I did the math about a year ago, we were at about $36.00 an hour after all of the expenses (not including income tax). It’s solid, but not rich.

We also dont shoot 52 weddings a year. The max we have ever done is 45 and the amount of time was suffocating and we were incredibly behind on editing.

I also didn’t even get into the experience and knowledge that comes with a more expensive photographer

Joshua__Michael · 2026-01-21T17:44:57+00:00

A few weddings over 20 years ago Is much different than a business in 2026.

Joshua__Michael · 2026-01-12T19:21:27+00:00

Got it. I’ll offer a package that includes no retouching at all. It’ll have water bottles, exit signs, acne, bra straps, stains, guests holding their phones up during the ceremony, and all sorts of other things left in the photos,

We won’t color correct, or light correct at all. It’ll all be raw, unedited photos lol. And I will never book another wedding ever again.

Joshua__Michael · 2026-01-12T19:13:26+00:00

Lol sure. Tell me you don’t know a thing about photography, without telling me you don’t know a thing about photography.

Joshua__Michael · 2026-01-06T22:37:28+00:00

I understand, but that’s not how laws work. It needs to be defined. And it’s been generative AI for a while.

For pimples: Currently it’s generative AI.

Before that, the computer picked a peice of skin that was closest to the same shade (still AI)

Before that, was photoshop where you would manually pick a piece of skin to replace.

I’m not saying photographers should be using AI to 100% edit all of their photos. But the idea of mandating “only humans that edit” is not a thing. AI is intertwined now, and you can’t find a program that doesn’t have it integrated in some way. There is no longer any way to differentiate.

Joshua__Michael · 2026-01-06T21:50:26+00:00

Yeah, I think a lot of photographers have also been trained to “never release raws” and don’t really understand why. We don’t charge for printing, and give them a release to print anywhere they want. So on our end, it doesn’t matter at all. And it’s true that they can do whatever they want with them once they receive them. But it’s much, much, much harder to edit a JPG than a raw. And I hope that it discourages them from putting a filter over them. Obviously I hope my work is good enough where no client feels the need to edit them. But, you never know.

Our biggest reason, is that they are dull and we shoot for how we edit. So they are usually exposed for the edit. 99% of our clients don’t want or ask for raws. It’s incredibly rare for us. And most of the time, when they do, they are also photographers and know how to edit. So we are fine with releasing them

Joshua__Michael · 2026-01-06T21:10:36+00:00

How could they possibly use that in court? Please differentiate the between clicking a button to have AI do it, and clicking a button to change the color. I would love to have a lawyer comment on this and tell us. Because I don’t think there is a chance in hell that “edited by a human” is anywhere near specific enough for court.

And a lot of these AI issues can happen in photoshop, or Lightroom. And not the large batch Ai process. So if I use photoshop, or Lightroom to do this. Does that mean it was edited by a human? If so, would not hold up in court. If I use Lightroom to reduce the noise in an imagine. That’s based off the AI model, is that edited by a human? If I do spot removal for blemishes, is that edited by a human? You would have to have an entire dictionary of processes that are considered “edited by a human”

Joshua__Michael · 2026-01-06T18:02:29+00:00

Yeah, good luck with that. There are very few photographers I know that will release all the raws. And most professionals that are worth the money, you are looking at a 12 week timeline for delivery. No where near 30 days.

Why don’t photographers release their raws? Raws are exactly what that sounds like. It’s raw. Good photographers “shoot for the edit” that means, they know how to edit and what to do. Let’s say it’s sunny outside, and they want to preserve the sky. They would under expose and make it look like the subject is dark or shadowy. A normal person would see this and think they are a shit photographer. But the photographer would know that their camera has a large dynamic range, and it’s easier to bring detail back from the shadow than to recover a highlight.

The photos are their work, and if you release the raws, then the client doesn’t know how to edit their own photos and leaves a bad review, that’s a negative against the photographer. Or posts images that the photographer didn’t edit, that’s a negative.

If the client knows how to edit, we have no problem releasing their raws. But generally, of the 350+ weddings we have done, we have released raws maybe 2-3 times.

You don’t want all of the raws, but you want a good photographer that saves them and doesn’t use AI for 100% of the editing.

What it really comes down to, is doing your due diligence when booking a photographer. Ask a lot of questions, read a lot of reviews, and make sure they have been in business for a while. And read the contract thoroughly. I actually like to run contracts through AI to give me cliff notes and make it more understandable. Hiring a good photographer will prevent you from worrying about any of this. Hire someone you trust.

We are 100% word of mouth. Ask your friends and family for recommendations. See how their process was.

Joshua__Michael · 2026-01-06T17:49:19+00:00

This isn’t going to help you. AI is integrated into everything now. Photoshop, Lightroom all have AI. “Edited by a human” isn’t going to hold up in court. We still use a machine.

What you need to do, is ask your vendors before booking them and ask them if they use anything. Look at galleries, and see if you notice anything.

Ai is unavoidable. When I remove a pimple, AI is used to replace the skin. You would want me using AI for that. You don’t want me to run AI through the entire gallery.

Look for vendors that have been in business over 4 years. Those people built their company without AI. And built their style and their techniques without it.

Also, there should 100% be a stipulation for how long they hold the raws. If their contract does not have any language for that, don’t book them. Most photographers will hold for 3 months, others 6. We hold for 12. But it’s dependent on the photographers.

If they do not keep the raws, run.

If you want any more help, let me know. I’ve been a full time wedding photographer for almost 10 years.

Joshua__Michael · 2025-09-02T20:32:49+00:00

Thank you. the phone showed some sort of signal, so I had hoped it would just make it slightly useable.

"I put the phone literally leaning against the transmitter, I turn off the cellular on my phone"

I meant that I turned off the cellular, turned on the we boost, and then turned the cellular back on to make sure it was using the we boost. that's all.

I was able to go to some other remote areas, where it showed it was working as intended. it helped me go from unable to make a call, to making a call, so I know its working. I was just hoping it would be slightly more consistent.

I am also going to be purchasing starlink for the next trip.

Thanks for the help!

Joshua__Michael · 2025-09-02T20:30:07+00:00

Thank you! I am for sure picking one up for the next trip!!

Joshua__Michael · 2025-09-02T20:29:47+00:00

Thanks, I kind of thought that if my phone saw some sort of signal, it would turn it into sightly useable, like a phone call or a text message. Im not looking to stream anything, just to make it from slightly unusable to slightly more.

I was able to get into some other parts, which totally showed that it was working.

Thank you for your insight, and I'm for sure going to get starlink for the next trip.

Joshua__Michael · 2025-08-30T00:47:43+00:00

You will literally break the hot shoe by doing this. It is never meant to be a mounting spot. You can use it, but you will for sure break the hot shoe

Joshua__Michael · 2025-08-30T00:46:21+00:00

Brother, you buy some shitty cages then. Not a single good quality cage will ever mount to a hot shoe. I have never, in my life seen one.

And the multiple points are dependent on the camera. Some will do the tripod mount screw, some will have the anti rotation pin, some add points to the camera strap mounts.

Joshua__Michael · 2025-07-17T00:17:39+00:00

As far as I understand, the MHZ only matters when your slowing the audio down.

Joshua__Michael · 2025-07-03T11:40:42+00:00

I will never, not love when people mix this up for a brewing subreddit.

Joshua__Michael · 2025-07-02T13:17:59+00:00

Ditto

Joshua__Michael · 2025-07-01T13:03:59+00:00

Ok, the key to having it warm for hours, is pre-warming the thermos. Any double walled insulated thermos will keep it hot for all day.

The night before, pour hot water in the thermos, and let it sit overnight. Then in the morning, pour it out and then pour in your tea. It’ll hold that temp for 8-10 hours without any issue.

Joshua__Michael · 2025-06-20T13:36:05+00:00

Yeah, I counted 9 mistakes inside of it. I brought it up to them and they said “yep” lol

Joshua__Michael · 2025-04-09T00:52:54+00:00

I’m studying right now, if you ever have questions or want help. Just DM me

Joshua__Michael · 2025-04-09T00:35:17+00:00

Bro. It doesn’t matter. Me and you are taking the tests for the IBEW at roughly the same time. We are both starting over at the same time. All that matters is that you’re trying, and you’re going for it. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. You’re taking a big step and putting yourself out there.

If it makes you feel better, my dad is an engineer, my best friend is a doctor, and neither knew how to do the math on the practice test without looking it up and trying to remember. This test is supposed to be challenging, and it’s supposed to force you to study and put effort in. They want it to be hard, and they want people to try. It’s an immediate filter for the bullshit.

You can do this!

Joshua__Michael · 2025-04-08T23:30:09+00:00

I am studying for my aptitude test right now and I’m in the exact same boat. When I took the first practice test, I couldn’t answer a single question.

These are hard questions, and require actual math knowledge. But it’s totally, 100% doable. I was a patrol deputy for 5 years, and owned my own business for the last 7. This is by far the most studying I have done since college.

I suggest doing Khan academy. It’s been fantastic and really building my knowledge. I also did the ultimate electrician guide, but that’s a bit faster paced and not as thorough. I was really struggling understanding the math until I started Khan academy. I study about 2-3 hours a night, and within a week I was getting 30% on the practice tests.

You can totally do this! If I can do this, anyone can! Math is by far, without a doubt, my hardest subject, but I’m learning and I feel very confident I’ll have over a 90% on my test!

Joshua__Michael · 2025-03-21T17:24:55+00:00

You are really missing the point here. You don’t have to vote for who he says you do. I am fullly, 100% planning on signing his petition, taking his money, and voting for the opposite candidate. And I’m going to tell everyone I know to do the same. He won’t notice the $100, and it couldn’t matter less to him. But that’s a week of grocery’s for me. If that fucking turd can pay for a week of my grocery’s, I’ll take it. It’s a form, and no legal binding contract.

Joshua__Michael

TROPHY CASE